Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

There are people out there who hang onto news about Nintendo Directs the way a religious person might fervently cling to signs of Jesus' return. Humanity is still waiting on the second coming of the Lord, but Nintendo offered a nice stop-gap last week. The February Nintendo Direct was bursting with incredible RPG news—and some of it was simply bananas. A 2D HD remake of Live A Live? Absolutely nobody had that on their Bingo card. Well, it's doubtful anyone had "Kirby inhales objects bigger than your mom in Kirby and the Forgotten Land" either. To reiterate a point made earlier, it was a strange Direct. In addition to the Nintendo Direct RPG news, we talk about: Nadia is bad at Final Fantasy Tactics Waddle Dee broke the internet news machine wide open Lost Ark is already huge — can it keep up that momentum? More RPG nominations for the 25 Best RPGs of All Time Intergrade If we get to $8000 per month, Nadia and Eric's dads will fight each other $10,000, and we'll make it to the death Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat's gone, so Eric and Nadia assemble an Elite 4 to review Pokemon Legends: Arceus. IGN's Rebekah Valentine and Fanbyte's Kenneth Shepard join the show to chat about how the new direction has panned out, its highs and lows, and how it embraces Poke-mythology. Will this be remembered as a trailblazer or an obscure side game? Either way, we never want to see Cherubi again. Also in this episode: - A Realm Reborn struggle is real - We sing some Phantom of the Opera? - Eric craves curling - Nadia recounts crime - New Top 25 entries and the reveal of a new tactic-ful February special! Enjoy the show? Make sure to subscribe to our Patreon!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're in the throes of winter, but Pokemon discourse is hotter than ever. This week, Kat, Nadia, and Eric talk about the opening hours of Pokemon Legends Arceus, Game Freak's attempt to take the Pokemon franchise sort-of open world. Does it succeed? Does it fall flat on its face? We have things to say: We are chatty little Chatots. Also in this episode: - Bloodborne is still great. - It's time to vote for a new Blood God Pantheon game! Here's why Valkyria Chronicles deserves the vote. - Since voting for list stuff never goes out of style, we also have new picks for the Top 25 RPGs of All Time Integrade list! - Eric nearly drove a teacher to insanity with a metronome. - Nadia got hauled away by the Shakespeare Police. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're going back to the '90s again here on Axe of the Blood God, but here's a twist: We're going back to '90s Japan. Yes, it's another PC Console Quest, and we've invited our good friend PC98 Audi back to the show for the occasion. We discuss the PC-98's legacy, and how it affected '90s RPG development. Why did the platform have so many visual novels? What's the deal with, ahem, all those hentai games? We have much wisdom contained here, so stay a while and listen. Also in this episode: Oh God, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. Oh God. We have new picks for the Top 25 RPG Remake 2022 Intergrade. Nadia plays Bloodborne like a dimwit. Space Jam DVD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We may be in the dead of winter, but Axe of the Blood God is hotter than ever. So sayeth the show's fans, anyway. It's true! No word of a lie! Ahem. This week, Kat, Nadia, and Eric talk about a hodgepodge of lively topics, including: Some interesting new nominees for our new Best 25 RPGs of All Time list. Emphasis on "new" Final Fantasy XIV's producer tells the fanbase "Be good. For the love of God, please be good." RPGs – and games in general – are too long [INITIATING HUMOUR PROTOCOL: "That is what she said"] Square One, Mathman, and the trauma that accompanied them Weekly episodes are available to both free and premium listeners on Mondays. For lots more bonus content, check out our Patreon: https://patreon.com/bloodgodpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New year, new Axe of the Blood God! Our new Stars of Destiny tier has kicked off in earnest, and we had our first live taping of the podcast, followed by a special post-show discussion. That's right, for 25 smackeroos you can listen to us flub our lines and then get into a fight about Super Mario World vs Super Mario Bros. 3. Very rated R stuff. See, the R stands for "rad." This week's main show covers a bunch of stuff, including: - The great indie RPG 2022 preview! Some gorgeous retro-style fare is coming up, like Sea of Stars, SacriFire, and Eiyuden Chronicles Rising. - We're revisiting the Top 25 RPGs of All Time, and we want you to help us update our selection! - Square Enix is having NFT FOMO, and the world must suffer for it. - Eric is now a Final Fantasy XIV sicko. Ha ha…yes! Yessss! If you weren't able to pop to the post-show, we've got that for you, too. We talk about Sony's drive to produce only "prestige" games, and how that new philosophy will affect RPGs. Then everything breaks down into Super Mario chaos. Mama mia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're already three days into 2022! No refunds on the year, suckers. Don't worry, the Axe of the Blood God will be around to pick you up whenever you need it…and going by recent trends, everyone is going to be due for a pick-me-up somewhere between the first three and six months. Let's start the year strong with some spicy 2022 RPG predictions! Will we see anything to do with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 this year? Will we enjoy Elden Ring? Will Final Fantasy 16 make it out before year's end? (Funny you should ask…) Also in this episode: Nadia remembers quality Nintendo literature Yuji Naka is still plying his trade in the corner, like an exiled shoe-elf who hopes to return to his cobbler kingdom someday We read your RPG 202 feelings Here's to '22! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've had an amazing 2021, and we're hoping 2022 will be even better! Nadia, Eric, and Kat get together to share their hopes and dreams for the new year along with the following: - Info on a brand new tier! - Free and premium feeds being synced! - Upcoming specials! - And much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat, Nadia, and Eric say farewell to 2021 by looking back on the year's greatest RPG triumphs (and a few, er, not-triumphs). 2021 was a bit slim on major triple-A RPG releases, but there's been a great showing from smaller games, including SMT V, Tales of Arise, Monster Hunter Stories 2, Loop Hero, Ys 9, and so very much more. Oh, and there was also a new expansion for a certain online RPG that shall remain nameless. We can no longer say its name; it's become far too powerful. Please forget about the critically acclaimed MMORPG with the free trial that lets you play through all of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning expansion Heavensward. Also in this episode: Nintendo sure did drop an Indie Direct. Sea of Stars looks dope. OK, so you can't play Final Fantasy XIV, but you can play Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC! Oh wait, it's kind of a mess. Kat is now besties with Henry Cavill. We will all miss her as she departs on her glorious new life as a Hollywood groupie. Wait, didn't Elton John write a song about this…? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the end of 2021, we're making a Pantheon of the Blood God available to all of our listeners as a special thank you for all of your support! In this edition of Pantheon of the Blood God, Kat and Nadia are joined by special guest Alex Donaldson to dive deep into Final Fantasy VIII! Once considered the series' black sheep, Final Fantasy VIII is now held in higher regard, but is it worthy of the Pantheon? Kat and Nadia have very different opinions on that front. Regardless, there's much to unpack about Square Enix's flawed masterpiece, and that's exactly what Kat, Nadia, and Alex do as they discuss its rapid development, its curious Junction System, its marvelous soundtrack, and wonderful elements like Triple Triad. Truly, it's far from perfect, but it's one of the most memorable RPGs ever made. Pantheon of the Blood God is a special monthly series of podcasts in which we take a deep dive into an RPG selected by the AOTBG community. Want to hear more? Check us out on Patreon: https://patreon.com/bloodgodpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices